Vise cart from the last of my Laminated MDF

Just finished this one so thought I would add the last of my workshop cabinets. It’ a five drawer cabinet with full extension slides to house my machine vice, grinder and metal working tools (perish the thought).

This cabinet sees the last of the laminate MDF panels I bought on the cheap from ebay.

All was going well untill I made the drawer boxes the same width as the inside measurement as the cabinet. I don’t know what I was thinking as I even measured it twice, still got it wrong, so Saturday was spent ripping down the boxes by an inch then re gluing and screwing them back together. A little insurance was used in the form of some angle bracket (recycled from my bandsaw packing crate) to ensure integrity of the drawers , so hopefully they will hold up OK.

I raided a dumpster one night last week outside a tool store while visiting for some fixings (owners permission of course) I picked up two tool display cabinets, some counter top, about 12 feet long, laminated panels and some advertising hoarding about 9 feet by 3 feet. It’s made from 1/4” thick ridgid foam with a polypropelyne face on both sides. I had no idea at the time what I would use it for. As it turned out It cut easily on the table saw, I used it for lining the drawer boxes. I thought it might protect the bottoms of the dfrawers and be easily to wipe clean. What I found as well was that being white it makes seeing tools against the back drop of the drawer bottom a lot clearer, particularly with my ailing eye sight.

As with all my carts they are all on castors, 2- 1/2” in this case. The top of the cart is double thick edged with white oak so should be able to take a bit of a ponding and easily wiped down with the laminate top. Just got to fill it with stuff I would otherwise have thrown out….not!

Most of my tools are Jet so for a little fun I gave the cart the same livery as the machines.

David, nice save. I think I would have added some biscuits in this situation along with the glue and screws. You could have also used a spline like you would to put a hardwood edge on plywood. I wonder didn’t you pay a fortune to ship the laminate MDF panels that stuff had to weigh a ton?

Thanks Pat, I thought of biscuits but the base was too thin to make it work so I just fired in some inch and a half brads and a couple of drywall screws and some good glue. If that doesn’t work I’ll have to remake them. Here’s hoping I won’t need to.

I picked the MDF boards up from the guy, he was about 100 miles away. The sheets were all about 54” x 22”. I loaded the truck up, I think I got about 24 sheets and two rolls of the acrylic edge band tape all for £73. I took the good lady with me and we had some lunch and made a day of our trip (I know how to give a lady a good time huh?)

I don’t know what shipping would have cost but certainly more than the cost of the fuel and the price of a lunch that’s for sure.

So…. you forgot the “one inch rule”, huh?......Amateur..!! (I’m just kidding, of course). As always, your shop projects turned out to be beneficial, and it even matches your other decor in the Jet colors….Stellar job on the build, and it’ll do the job for you, pal. Just watch them brain cramps…they can come on you pretty quick sometimes…..Measure 3 times, if necessary, and cut 2 times….oh.. you’ve already did that…...lol.

Maybe he was measuring in CM’S that will get u in trouble every time. LOL

Looking at the drawer with tools in it allready it doesn’t look like these will have light loads in them. The glue screws and nails though should do the trick, if you have any concerns maybe glue a piece of 1/4 round by 3/4” so it adheres to both side and bottom. Love the extra little touch of the color at the bottom is this paint or a something else?

Morning fellahs – thanks for the comments, I tend to think of it as, a good craftsman can always cover his mistakes, lol. That must mean I should be a master by now. I think if i had measured it a dozen times Rick I would have still have cut it to the wrong size. Don’t know what was on my mind??? On the positive side it was an exact friction fit lol.

Just a little paint job on the bottom drawer Pat, some of that one coat satin paint then just stuck some red electrical tape on as banding when the paint had just gone off and was still a little tacky.

I have some little angle brackets for extra security of the drawer bottoms, but I take your point on the quarter round beading, hopefully I won’t need it…..I’ve moved on lol. The RAS station now occupies my thoughts. I’ll keep you guys updated on that one too, hopefully with no (or little mistakes).